Title: You Will Know You Are Not Dreaming
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Squaresoft characters, thanks for letting me borrow them!
Rating: PG-13 for now, may change to R later
Feedback: I'd love some, this is my first fiction ever. And I wrote it a while ago, just never got round to putting it up. Let me know what you think, constructive criticism is good, but no flaming, and praise is always welcome J let me know if you want me to continue…
Chapter One
It was another peaceful day at Balamb Garden. Everyone was just beginning to relax after the defeat of Ultimecia and Squall was feeling happier than ever…
"Rinoa wait a minute" Shouted Squall
Rinoa Heartilly, Squall's beautiful girlfriend was on her way to class - she was now training to become a SeeD and was being occupied by various classes here and there. Squall however wanted to spend more time with her.
He caught her round the waist and pulled her close before giving her one last deep kiss so she wouldn't forget him while she was away.
"Squall!" said Rinoa "I'm only going to be gone for an hour I'll be back soon"
"Yes" he replied "but every moment is like a lifetime to me"
Pulling away she whispered "Tonight. I've got something special planned, wait for me outside the car park at 7.00"
"I'll be there my angel" he said before she disappeared around the corner, leaving him guessing what she could be up to now.
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"Irvy" Shrieked Selphie before running quickly away from a bemused Irvine.
He looked at her sleek, bouncy hair and deep green eyes as she dashed into the Ladies toilets. After the defeat of Ultimecia Irvine had become more attached to Selphie. He loved the way she cared for everyone and everything, no matter how insignificant the problem Selphie was always there to cheer everyone up. He smiled as he thought of how she reacted to the way he treated her. As she was passing he pinched her on the ass causing her to run away screaming. He hoped she realised how much he cared for her. Since he became so wrapped up in Selphie he had stopped putting the charm on for the other ladies.
"I've changed a lot for you Sefie" He thought to himself as she poked her head round the door.
"He waited for me" She thought as she saw the cowboy-like figure standing nearby. No matter how crude the gestures he made Selphie still adored him for who he was, he tried to act "sexy" but Selphie found it more endearing than anything.
"Not going to touch me up again are you?" She said playfully.
"Depends…" He said lurching towards her.
Selphie screamed again and ran in the direction of the training centre.
"Better follow her" He thought wandering in the same direction "I don't want her to hurt herself"
He was walking past the elevator when Rinoa bumped into him.
"Hey Irvine" she said
"Hey" he replied "Going somewhere?"
"Yes actually, Squall thinks I'm going to class but I've got the next two days off and I'm lining up a surprise for him"
"Anything exciting?" said Irvine with a dirty grin on his face.
"Nothing like that young man" She said sharply "I'm booking a short holiday in a small cottage in the forest for us"
Irvine raised his eyebrows to this "Just the two of you? Seifer would have a field day with that knowledge! And Squall on a peaceful holiday? Then again he has changed a lot since the battle, he's more open"
"Could you tell the others? Not Seifer though knowing him he'd probably follow in the hope of killing Squall and I really don't want that!"
"None of us do" replied Irvine
"I really better go, I've got some supplies to get"
"See you later Rinoa" he said with a wave.
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Quistis was having another class, full of young hopeful SeeD candidates, Squall had decided as Commander of the Garden that SeeD's would still be trained in case of another emergency. "They're all so eager" she thought as they filled in a sheet she had given them about the effects of GF's. She looked at her watch and realised that it was time for them to leave.
"Okay everyone, sheets in to the front you can finish them in our next lesson"
As the students slowly filtered out of the class she relaxed more, she had a free few hours now and she was looking forward to spending some quality time with Zell and Rinoa who also had some free time. She laughed quietly to herself as she thought about where Zell would be, in the canteen eating hot dogs like there was no tomorrow, Tuesdays were delivery day and she knew that they would be gone by the end of the day. Shutting down her computer still chuckling gently she stood up and looked up only to see Squall standing in front of her.
"Quistis can I speak to you for a bit?" He asked in a formal tone.
"Sure Commander" she said as he blushed furiously, he hated being called that "what's wrong?"
"Rinoa's taking me out tonight" he said turning an even deeper shade of red.
Quistis had to stop herself laughing, he was still embarrassed by intimate issues.
"Yes Squall?"
"Do you know what she's planning?"
"No, you're beginning to think more like Irvine Squall, she's not going to force you to do anything you don't want to"
"QUISTIS" he exclaimed "I didn't mean THAT, it's just that Zell has been hinting to me that the rings have been engraved. She doesn't want me to propose does she?"
"I don't think you're ready for marriage yet you've only just turned 18! I'm sure she just wants you two to have a night out alone, everything has only just begun to calm down now and you've been stressed getting Garden back to normal again. I can see you still haven't lost the ability to look too deeply into things!"
"Okay Quistis I was only wondering, I'd better go and get ready"
"Don't feel so paranoid, enjoy yourself tonight, relax"
"Thanks again"
"Bye Squall"
He walked away thinking about what she had said. Even though he denied it he didn't know how far Rinoa wanted their relationship to go. "Just go with the flow" He thought to himself as he wandered back to the dorms.
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After Rinoa had booked the cottage she headed to the canteen where she saw Zell doing what he did best apart from fighting, eating Balamb Garden's famous hotdogs. Zell looked up from his hotdog and saw Rinoa giggling at him. He grinned back and polished off his final hotdog as Rinoa sat down in the seat opposite.
"Hey Rinoa" He said "Irvine told me you're taking Squall out for a couple of days"
"Yeah I can't wait!"
"So watcha gonna do with him?" Zell said raising his eyebrows.
"Well…" Started Rinoa ignoring the implied topic "We're going to have dinner in a small restaurant in Timber before heading off to a secluded cottage for 2 nights"
"Very romantic" exclaimed Zell
"Better watch out for puberty boy Rinoa" said a deep voice from behind her.
"Seifer" she muttered under her breath holding back her temper "How did you find out?"
"Oh! It's common knowledge everyone except puberty boy himself knows about it"
"I'm gonna kill Selphie!" thought Rinoa, lovely though the tiny girl was she still had to tell EVERYONE all the gossip that went on. Rinoa stopped her trail of thought as she saw Quistis appearing.
"Hey everyone! Just leaving Seifer?"
"Not when the lovely Instructor Trepe is around" he drooled "It's great to be back at this wonderful Garden"
"Doesn't mean we can forget about your previous crimes Seifer, Squall only let you back in because he pitied you, you had nowhere to go and he kindly let you back in, you have nothing to be proud of Seifer"
"Hmmm" replied Seifer with no witty comment to follow up with.
"Anyway" said Rinoa "Quistis did you want something?"
"Well yes, I need to speak to you Rinoa, privately"
"Okay, I'll be back in a minute Zell"
"It's all right I'll keep chicken-wuss busy" said Seifer brandishing his Triple Triad cards at a fuming Zell.
Quistis led Rinoa over to a small table in the far corner of the canteen so no one else could hear.
"Squall came to talk to me earlier" began Quistis " He's really paranoid about your relationship, he thinks you want him to propose to him!"
"Oh no, that's so typical of Squall" moaned Rinoa "I'll put his fears at ease, neither of us are ready for that yet"
"Okay that's good. One more thing Rinoa, have you two…"
"No not yet"
"It's just that I think you should talk to Dr. Kadowski about it"
"I already have, don't worry I've got everything I need, thanks Quisty it's nice to know you care"
"It's alright, he's just a teenage boy and you know how they think"
"We'd better get back to Zell" said Rinoa blushing slightly before glancing in Zell's direction. She gasped as she saw him wielding his fists at Seifer. She and Quistis dashed over to stop them before a fight broke out.
"Don't worry Rinoa, I'll sort this out, you'd better go and pack it's 6.30 already!"
"Oh no" she groaned as she glanced at her watch before dashing off quickly in the direction of her dorm.
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Squall stood, leaning against the yellow sign of the car park and glanced at his chunky silver watch. He was wearing his favourite outfit, his loose white shirt and Griever necklace which contrasted to the darkness of his fur trimmed black jacket which was his trademark clothing. Going further down he was wearing dark blue, baggy trousers with the double, red belts crossing around his hips all finished off with a pair of black, chunky boots. He was however wearing one object of vital importance, wrapped around his wrist tightly was a chain with two silver rings one large and one small. Squall fingered them gently gazing at the shiny beauty of the small one "Like Rinoa" he thought with a smile, just as this thought passed through his head he felt her gentle arms wrap around his waist. Before she could speak he turned around and held her in a warm embrace. He let go, "she looks beautiful" he thought as he saw what she was wearing. She had a long, turquoise, velvet skirt on which fell in waves to the floor, then she wore a small, silk, matching top with thin straps and draped across her shoulders she had a large, turquoise wrap. Squall looked at her in awe of her beauty, she giggled nervously as she felt his eyes wander all over her. Then Squall realised what he was wearing and felt silly to be wearing casual clothes. Rinoa held up a large bag
"There's a tuxedo in there, you've got ten minutes and counting" she explained.
He gave her a quick hug and dashed off leaving her standing alone, a few minutes passed and Rinoa saw Selphie approaching her.
"Well, where is he?" she said with a smile
"Gone to get changed into something more suitable" Rinoa replied
"You look wonderful Rinoa"
"Thanks it used to be my mothers"
"I bet Squall nearly passed out when he saw you!"
"I don't know" she said with a blush
"Whatever…" came a reply from behind
Selphie whistled at Squall in his tuxedo.
"You look really cute Squall"
"Whatever" said Rinoa and Squall simultaneously, Rinoa laughed.
"Ready to go?" said Squall, hiding his embarrassment.
"I'll leave you two alone then" said Selphie leaving "See you in a couple of days"
As she turned the corner Squall frowned "A couple of days?"
"Yes it's all part of the surprise, I have everything we need" she said holding up a large suitcase "First lets get that car to Timber"
"What about Garden?" said Squall, obviously concerned
"I've booked you a couple of days off" she looked at him grabbed him by the waist and gave him a long slow kiss "It's going to be wonderful…"
"Okay then, lets go my angel" he said happy that they were together.
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Squall and Rinoa climbed into the back of the limousine. Squall pulled the curtain between them and the driver so they had some privacy.
"Thank you so much for organizing this" he admitted "I really needed the rest, and to spend time with you makes it all the more perfect.
Rinoa looked at his light, aqua eyes and as his eyes met hers she felt no need to reply. She sat on his lap and he obligingly wrapped his arms around her, she looked up at him almost seeing stars.
He looked down on her wonderingly and bent down giving her a deep kiss full of love and belonging. Just as he broke off the kiss the car stopped and they got out at the small restaurant, the driver told them that he would pick them up at 10.30. Rinoa looked at her watch, it was 8.00, they had two and a half hours to enjoy their meal.
"Plenty of time" whispered Squall taking her hand.
She led him inside. The restaurant had an intimate atmosphere, there were tiny tables covered in pure, white, linen cloths. There was a plush red carpet with curtains to match and near the back with a small dance floor in front of it, was a stage with a piano on it. Rinoa told the waiter about her reservation and he led them to a table for two just to the right of the stage. They both sat down and ordered their food and drink and were alone once more.
Squall took Rinoa's hand and kissed it lightly before pressing a tiny case into her hand. She opened the box and saw the familiar silver ring but this time it had the Griever symbol engraved on it just like Squall's.
"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed slipping it onto her delicate finger.
"I'm not proposing to you" he confessed "I just don't think we're ready for it yet, I still wanted to give it to you though"
"Don't worry my knight, I understand and I feel that it's not right yet, I still love you with all my heart"
"and I love you Rinoa"
Whilst they ate soft music played over a speaker system, just as they finished eating a girl went up on the stage and began to play the piano. The young couple stopped talking as they recognized the song. "Eyes On Me" wafted over the other diners as the Sorceress and her Knight took to the tiny dance floor. Squall held Rinoa close and she pressed her head against his shoulder as they swayed in time to the music. "you will know that you are not dreaming" sung its silky lyrics around them.